Photos: Antares rolls out for first time since 2014

An Antares rocket is being prepared for launch for the first time in two years after emerging from the Horizontal Integration Facility at Wallops Island, Virginia, on Thursday evening for a one-mile trip to the launch pad.

The rocket started its journey on a self-propelled transporter around 5:12 p.m. EDT (2112 GMT) Thursday and rolled down a two-lane road and up a ramp to launch pad 0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport.

Ground crews lifted the rocket vertical Friday morning, ahead of a planned launch at 8:03 p.m. EDT Sunday (0003 GMT Monday) with more than 5,100 pounds of cargo inside a Cygnus supply ship heading for the International Space Station.

The photos of the rollout posted below include views of the new RD-181 engines mounted to the base of the Antares rocket’s Ukrainian-built first stage.